Haven: Season 5, Episode 3: Spotlight

by yeah stub

With both the Haven PD and the Guard looking for Mara, Nathan decides to bring her to a remote cabin in order to buy him some time to get Audrey back.

What follows is a battle of wills and wits as the two try to outplay each other. Nathan belittles Mara’s agenda and talks about how much better Audrey is while Mara taunts Nathan with memories and constant reminders that Audrey is gone once and for all. Both parties held their own, which made for a more engaging watch.

The episode also throws some sexual tension just to keep things interested. I was skeptical when Mara started showing interest in Nathan. I figured it was just a ploy to screw with his head and while the episode does do a good job of making you think that it isn’t the case, it does turn out that Mara is attempting to attack her male adversary in his most vulnerable place.

There’s a B-plot where Duke and Dwight try to help a troubled woman who absorbs light and shoots it out of her stomach in intense beams. It’s pretty by the numbers, but it is a B-plot that is meant to fill out the run time, so it does its job in that regard.

One interesting twist on this end is the reveal that the woman needs light in order to live. This renders their original strategy of literally keeping her in the dark essentially useless, but at the same time, keeping her alive endangers others. It’s a nice moral quandary that, alas, doesn’t get resolved in this episode. I guess it will pick up in next week’s episode.

This episode puts a lot of weight on both Rose and Bryant and they do a rather good job of carrying it. If the two didn’t play so well off one another, I don’t think that the episode would have been nearly as effective as it was.

I know some fans are clamoring for Audrey to return, but I’m still digging Mara as a villain. While she doesn’t get to shine to the same extent that she did last episode in terms of presenting a threat, she does a good job of screwing with the other characters’ heads and that’s just as entertaining to watch.

It does seem like Mara’s on her last legs, though, as Nathan now has a way to bring Audrey back. I’m a little unsure about it. I know it was inevitable, but the method of doing so leaves a bit to be desired in my opinion. We’ll see, I could be proven wrong in that regard.

I enjoyed the episode. It was more low key, but it allowed the characters to shine a bit more and I’m not even talking about the trouble of the week. So far, this season has been faring pretty well, here’s hoping that they can keep the momentum going.